


No Angel

by Kittenmaya



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Minor Character Death, Romance, slight AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2014-03-06
Packaged: 2018-01-14 17:10:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1274461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittenmaya/pseuds/Kittenmaya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Stiles runs, literally, into Derek Hale the last thing he can think of is romance. He can, however, think about why Derek disappeared when they were 18 and how he ended up in New York. Getting to know each other again is hard, starting to care for each other is a challenge and falling in love is a nightmare.</p><p>When Derek refuses to let him in, Stiles refuses to give his heart to someone who can't even trust him. And yet, nothing in his 24 years of life has felt so right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Angel

**Author's Note:**

> So this is 90% as the TV series is BUT the stuff with the Nogitsune never happened. Will get explicit in later chapters.

To say Derek was broken the first time they met would have been an understatement. To say he was ruined would have been more accurate. Stiles had barely recognised the man who he had known as a teenager, not least because New York was a hell of a long way from Beacon Hills. Four years of university and 2 years of work there and New York was home to Stiles in ways Beacon Hills never could be. Here he was an adult, still on the Adderall but under control of himself in a way he never was as an awkward, gangly teenager. His work as a researcher in Dementia had brought him a sense of purpose and his discovery of Tai Chi as a way to centre himself in his 2nd year of uni had done him a world of good and he had grown into a man in a way that even Jackson, when he saw the old gang every few months, admitted was ‘rad’. Derek, on the other hand, seemed to have taken the last 6 years to let his beard and hair grow wild. His ragged clothes weren’t exactly doing him any favours either. Stiles only recognised him when he was slammed into forcefully on the street, his surprised yelp earning him a glare that he would recognise any time, any place. God knows he’d been on the receiving end of it enough. He grabbed at Derek’s arm as the older man shoved past him.

‘Derek?’

‘Let go of – Stilinski?’ Derek’s eyes flashed from glare to surprise to irritation in a matter of seconds. ‘Let go of me, Stilinkski.’

‘Uh, no! Where the hell have you been? What the hell are you doing here? Why-‘

‘Stiles. Stop. I said let go.’ He yanked his arm out of Stiles’s hand. ‘I can’t talk to you.’ He turned away from Stiles and started jogging the other way. One of the many benefits of the fitness Stiles got from Tai Chi was that he could run faster than he ever had as a Lacrosse player. He caught up with Derek in just a few strides and grabbed his shoulder this time, pulling hard enough to force Derek around to face him. This earned him the glare, on super strength, and a growl.

‘Stiles. Let go.’

‘No! Derek, you disappeared. We thought you’d died somehow. Scott cried.’ He eased his grip. ‘Man, what happened? I worried.’ This stopped Derek and he snorted.

‘Why, did you worry?’

‘Hey! I cared! I resent that you think that I didn’t!’ Letting go of Derek’s arm, Stiles crossed his own arms defensively.

‘Stiles, you loathed me.’

‘Well, yeah. But in a caring way!.’ For half a second something Stiles would place money on being a smile ghosted over Derek’s face. ‘Come on. One coffee, half an hour. Please. I’ll even pay.’ The glare returned. Stiles put his hands up, a gesture of surrender. ‘It won’t hurt, I promise!’ Derek mulled it over.

‘One coffee. 30 minutes. Then you leave me alone.’

‘Ok! Done, sold, taken.’

 

They found the nearest Starbucks, 500 yards down the road unsurprisingly, and ordered, Stiles paying as promised. Honestly, he wasn’t convinced Derek could pay for anything right now. There certainly didn’t seem to be any indication of wealth going by his tattered appearance. They sat, Derek’s coffee a predictable plain black, Stiles’s a brightly coloured combination of caffeine, sugar and ice.

‘Can you even drink that?’ Derek asked, frowning at the offending drink.

‘Yup. They’ve got a much better understanding of ADD now. I’m still on the Adderall but it’s half as strong as when I was a kid. Seems to work 90% of the time. Though Scott swears I’m still as bad at talking fast. Like I am now. Sorry.’ Stiles winced as he heard himself. There was that rare smile from Derek again and Stiles found himself blushing slightly as the older man studied him.

‘I’m glad it’s not all new-and-shiny Stiles. I was fond of the old one.’ Now Stiles could feel the hot blush spread up his neck and spill onto his cheeks, even the tips of his ears felt suddenly hotter.

‘Well – uh, yeah. Still me in here.’ He stumbled for words and let them drift into an awkward silence. Derek sighed loudly and leant back in the leather chair he had commandeered.

‘I believe you wanted to know how I ended up here?’

‘Uh, yeah. Yes.’ Stiles shook the blush off and forced his brain to focus on the man opposite him. ‘Where did you go? Why did you leave so suddenly? Why didn’t you tell any of us? Do you realise how much you panicked Scott? How come you’re here? And looking like that? And- Oh God! Sorry, not that you look bad or anything, I mean not that I’m looking-’ Derek reached over the small table between them and stilled Stiles’s fluttering hands.

‘Ok. Let’s do this one at a time, yeah?’ Stiles nodded, picking up his drink to stop his hands. ‘I had to leave fast. Someone had taken Cora and I only had her scent to work with. It fades fast so I didn’t have time to tell anyone. I traced them to here.’ He stopped abruptly and Stiles found he didn’t want to know the next part of this story. It seemed Derek wasn’t willing to go there anyway. ‘I’ve been here since. I lost my control after- I lost my control. It took me a while to find it again.’

‘I’m sorry, man. I had no idea.’ Stiles felt a rip of guilt for even stopping the guy but he never could have walked away without some idea of why Derek had left so suddenly. Silence fell between them again, this time less awkward and more contemplative. Derek took several long gulps of his drink.

‘So how come you’re in New York?’ He asked.

‘I came for uni, got a job here, Dad retired in New Jersey so I couldn’t see a reason to move back to Beacon Hills. I go back a few times a year to see Scott, Allison, Isaac and, when he can be bothered to bless us with his presence, Jackson. It works pretty well.’

‘What about Lydia?’

‘She uh, she moved to New York with me. Same uni. It- it didn’t really work. We’re still friends but it’s a bit strained.’

‘She find a new boyfriend?’

‘Uh – no. I did.’ Stiles had faced some pretty odd reactions when he’d finally come out as gay. Out right laughter wasn’t one of them. ‘What?’

‘Scott owes me $50.’

‘What, seriously? You guys are such children! Hey, speaking of, can I tell him you’re ok?’ Derek’s laughter cut off abruptly.

‘No!’ It was too loud in the small café and the table around them fell quite. Stiles tried to offer them a reassuring smile. Derek lower his voice, his eyes took on a haunted quality that made Stiles shiver unconsciously. ‘No, you can’t. Look I shouldn’t have even come with you.’ The silence was back with a vengeance. Stiles tried not to be hurt by Derek’s anger, it sounded like the guy had been through hell, but still, he thought after all the years of saving each other’s asses there was at least a little trust between them, some care, surely?

‘Right. Ok. That’s fine. Look I need to get back to work.’ He tried not trip over anything as he stood, taking the still full sugar concoction with him. He was just past the table when a hand landed on his wrist.

‘Stiles.’ Derek’s voice was pained. ‘Look, I – it was nice seeing you. I’m sorry.’ Damn him! Now Stiles really couldn’t be annoyed at him. He turned back to the table.

‘It was good to see you too Derek. We missed you.’ And if there was a slight emphasis on the ‘we’ then who was to blame Stiles really? ‘Maybe some other time. I work round the corner.’

‘Yeah. Maybe.’ But Stiles could hear the forced cheer in Derek’s voice. As the door shut behind him he was glad, at least, to know that Derek hadn’t died.


End file.
